Crocheting

Today I went to Hobby Lobby. I should have taken a picture. I went to get some different yarn and to see about how to do a better job crocheting. I thought there might be someone at the store who could help with learning how to do the stitches to make the granny squares. well there weren't any clerks or teachers available. But I did find a customer and his mother who knew about crochet. They liked one of the squares, but suggested I work on learning the stitches. They told me to get thinner yarn or a smaller needle and to practice! So I am practicing... making dish towels and coasters. All this while I watch National Velvet, too.

Mischief

Today's vocabulary word was mischiefWell, one of the students said that his step brother was full of mischief. So full he had to go to JVC, that is jail for kids. He then proceeded to tell us the whole story of how it started with the trip to a Gamespot store and ended with his step brother breaking out the car window and walking from Hamilton to Dayton. ( Actually the last did not happen as the story progressed we learned that the police found him trying to do it.) Such drama. Is it any wonder that he has trouble settling down to read a good book? What does the story about a coyote have to do with is real life?
Well I am remembering some mischief that my children got into- dumping the cereal into the washer- J.J., stealing a park sign-Katie, unbuckling his harness and running through the store into the store window- Jonathan, talking back to the college student helper-Lita. Nothing quite as scary as this though. That boy's step brother has some kind of anger issues.

Bullies

On Friday morning a darling little girl came in crying and all the kids tried to comfort her. An obnoxious little boy from another class had told her that her glasses made her look dorky and ugly. As a teacher how do you handle this? Do you go on and say don't worry about it? Do you write to the other child's teacher and tell the teacher that so and so did such and such?
Well this is what I did. I gave her words to say when someone does this again. First of all tell him/her in a loud voice that "well, that is only your opinion." Then say, "I think glasses make me look wise." I hope that he does it agian because she is ready now. No boy is going to make her cry with words or with actions.

Dinner

Little did I know it would be so hard to get people to come over for dinner. I invited two people today and both said, "NO." How can they say no when they have never had my cooking yet? Ha! Ha!
You would think that two people would jump at the chance to not cook! Or to get to know someone better! Well I won't give up yet.

Something Fun

I wonder where these things are? I just love them and would like to put them in a dish for a center piece or something to have my hands play with when I need to play.

What I love about kids!

Third graders are so cute, not as cute as 5 year olds but cute! We were reading through the table of contents in the old reading book and talking about the stories we read. We found one that we did not cover.So we read it. It was a story about a code with a code in it to crack. The whole group minus one was on top of it. We got it done and figured it out and went on, but the minus one ( who hadn't even left the room) plugged in again and kept trying to figure out the code. He wouldn't stop until it was done.(again) Instead of thinking about it in his mind he had to have it written on paper. So while the rest of us moved on he kept at it. It is great to see kids excited about codes, you goota love them!

5t5s 3a.m. and5 amt5 46d. 1o5w 5lll aygo odn5 ght!
Codes sure are easier to fix on the computer!

Alone

For the last 3 days I have been alone more than I have ever been alone in a long long time. There has been time for reflection, and time to get chores done. Do I like this? Well it is OK. But, I think I would like something else better. It would be good to live in a dorm atmosphere for older people I think. Some of the Miss Julia books written about a place in a retirement village in North Carolina sound great. Or I'd like to live at least in a neighborhood where I knew the people and could go and visit friends. It is really weird not to know anyone within walking distance!
Working on an afghan made of Granny squares. I loved the one that Dessie had. Kate and I used to play on it with scrabble letters, and pretend that it was a garden of flowers. We used the letters to build people E and I were among the tallest.
I really enjoyed being at Jo Ann's last weekend. It was great to play cards and be around her family and mine.
Time to go and vacuum or something else active. I need exercise and it is too cold and snowy out!

Reflections!

Time for more reflections as well as cleaning, organizing, and preparing for the next few days months years. When we were children people always asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Well, I always said, "I want to be a teacher and go to Miami University." I did both of those things and I still am a teacher. I also wanted to live in a white house with a porch that went all away around it, be a wife, a mother, own a Mustang (car), live at the beach, own cats and a poodle (not happening). These are just things are are things among other things I did.
Another way to look at the days of my life is to ask what do I want to be? Healthy, happy, smart, kind, good, rich, diligent, friendly, patient, compassionate, honest, God fearing, obedient, accepting, loving, enthusiastic. I am sure there are other adjectives I need to use to describe the person I want to be. Those words, however, are a good start.
I am not sure there is a way to meet these goals though. I have heard that it is important to read, write, talk and listen every day. So maybe those are characteristics of personality that I need to work on with practice as I deal with the people, and places in my life, while I read, write, talk, and listen.
Now to decide which one to work on first. Any suggestions?

What do I do on the snow day?

Laundry, clean and put stuff away!
I am home today with a snow day. This is a fine time to make some plans as far as dealing with my health issues. First last night I found the scale in a box in the garage and brought it in! It weighs differently from the one at my work though. I guess I should go with it though. It is almost 10 lbs. different! I wonder if the slight slant to the bathroom floor makes a difference.
So starting weight on a bad scale 283. Goal again loose 1-1.5 pounds a week for 5 weeks.
No I have not taken the diabetes education class yet. I am resisting because I have read lots of literature and feel that I need to save my days off for court and other personal things. The materials Dr. Miller gave me say to eat small meals with 30 to 45 grams of carbs per meal. So I am trying that but as you wrote the hard times are in the evenings and when I am alone. The first plan is not to buy stuff that is not healthy. Last night at the store I did very well. I did not buy chips or ice cream and only bought cheerios for cereal!
The other thing I am doing to drinking even more water because I have found that taking the Torsemide I get dehydrated more often than not in the afternoon. This makes me both tired and thirsty. To compensate I found myself drinking a sweet drink which in turn made me hungry all evening.
So these are my plans:
1. aim for weight loss of 1-1.5 pounds per week.
2. limit carbs to 30 at snacks and 45 at meals.
3. drink more water.
At this point for exercise I am doing more housework but I try to walk some every day. Today I plan to sweep the sidewalk and shovel the drive way at some point, probably in the afternoon.
Tell me what you think and offer suggestions for the time alone parts. Any words of wisdom are welcome.
It is back to the laundry time.

Will It snow?

Today I went to the grocery store because I was out of dish soap. Yes, family I do do dishes. No one was in the parking lot and the employees were busily cleaning up the shelves and floor and other places. I turned left and skipped over the veggies, as I have plenty. Then I looked at the bread shelves. They were almost empty! Good thing I don't need any bread! The meat was very fresh looking and like the bread the milk frig was almost empty.
Then I realized, the whole town must have been to the store today because it is going to storm tomorrow~ go figure. Between Wednesday and Friday we might get between 3 and 6 inches of snow. Well, be prepared the motto of any good citizen of Liberty. So I got a few things myself. Not too much because it is just Lita and me here in my house. I almost forgot the dish soap but then recalled it. The parking lot was no longer empty when I left about 20 cars of people had come in as I shopped.
After doing the few dishes that will not go into the dishwasher, I sat down and finished a book I started before Christmas, then came into my bedroom to watch a t.v. show. Unbelievably schools are on 2 hour delay already. Now I am going to stay up for the 10 o'clock News to see what time they are predicting the snow will arrive.
Is there some sort of primitive need to horde because it is cold and snowy? Do school districts trust the weathermen more in the evening? Does this happen other places? Well time to do a snow dance and sing "let it snow".

Will It snow?

New Year's Resolutions

ON Monday I wrote down 10 resolutions. I had my students do the same. One fellow told me today that he has already met two of his! Well he is 8 and I am 57.....Haven't completed any yet!
Here they are for anyone who is just dying to read them.
1. Travel
A. I would like to go to Wilmington, North Carolina over spring break.Done
B. I would like to go and see Rachel in Philadelphia/Doylstown.
C. I would like to go and see Mom and Dad in California and all the rest of the family who live there too. 1/2 done
D. I would like to go to Florida with a stop off in Georgia!
2. Attend a retirement meeting done
3. Go to Lita's band performances done
4. Crochet an afghan. Started but need more lessons.
5. Get to know my neighbors. To do this I think I need to have people over for Saturday lunch or Sunday dinner. Or I can go outside and just visit in the summer or get a flat tire!6. Have friends over for a meal monthly- by doing this I should be able to do number 5.
7. Play cards more often. To do this I think I need to go to Georgetown, Ky.
8. Join the rec center and swim daily in the summer (or look in to joining the YWCA in Richmond.)
9. Check papers at school and keep the web page up to date!
10. Keep on top of birthday cards for family and friends!